Metroid: Rebirth
by BK1799
Summary: After the events of Metroid Fusion, Samus continues to struggle with her grief over Adam's death in Other M. But when she is stranded in the middle of a dangerous Pirate operation, she must overcome her emotions to prevent the worst crisis in galactic history from repeating itself once again
1. Chapter 1: Recuperation

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo

Chapter One: Recuperation

"Samus, are you ready to go?"

The deep, warm voice resonated throughout the room and roused Samus from her sleep. She slowly sat up, yawning and stretching, to see the familiar face of Anthony Higgs coming into her room.

"Wait, ready for what?" she groaned.

Anthony just laughed, shaking his head. "Remember? You promised to give a guest demonstration on self-defense today".

Samus slowly sat up, trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Oh, right. Just give me a minute."

Anthony started to leave. "Fine," he said. He started to leave, and then called back over his shoulder, "Oh, and Adam? Wake her up if she's not up by 0800."

"Affirmative, Lieutenant Higgs," came to slow, mechanical voice of the computer.

About 6 minutes (and one annoyingly loud alarm), Samus emerged in her Zero Suit.

"OK, let's go," Anthony said, "We're needed in 7-J".

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up," Samus replied.

"Alright, just don't be late."

As she headed towards her first class of the day, Samus paused to stare out of the large window on the Main Deck. She could see out into the vast reaches of space, and as she would always do, located the star around which the Bottle Ship had revolved. Out in the blackness, broken only by the twinkling of a billion other stars, the single light should hold no special meaning, lost in the vast reaches of the universe. However, it was there that the Galactic Federation had become so close to meeting its demise at the hands of MB. It was also the place where her closest confidante and only friend, Adam Malkovich, had met his end to protect the universe from the horrors within Sector Zero. The man had been as a father to Samus, and she didn't know how she could continue to handle his loss. She had taken the job protecting the Biologic research team on SR388 in an effort to reclaim some sense of stability in her life, performing simple duties and easy combat missions to take her mind off of her grief. However, those plans had been severely interrupted by the corruption of her body and Power Suit by the parasitic X virus and subsequent battles with the terrible SA-X. After she had been forced to destroy the B.S.L. station, and take out SR388, she still couldn't confront her emotions over the death of Adam. She had expected that the fact that her ship's computer had his personality to help, but it wasn't human. There could be no replicating his warm smile as he consoled her, nor the cold anger he displayed at those who would otherwise have made her life a living hell. As a computer, there was only the dry, emotionless, calculating mind. Seeking solace more than ever, she had taken a teaching post on the G.F.S. _Malkovich_ in the hopes that it would make her feel closer to her mentor. It had yet to help.

"At its core, self-defense is all about energy. Any energy can be stolen and turned against your attacker," Samus told the class, "Lieutenant Higgs and I shall demonstrate."

Anthony punched at her, as fast and hard as he could. With the full power of the 6"11, 250 pound soldier behind it, it was a punch that could very well do some serious damage. However, both of them knew that nothing he could do could touch a warrior trained by the Chozo. Samus grabbed his wrist and pulled, using his momentum to throw him through the air and onto his back. The class around her clapped at the demonstration of her skill. Now that she was retired, there were few enough chances to practice.

"Now split into pairs and practice," ordered Anthony as he and Samus walked to the side to observe the new recruits.

"Haha, wow," laughed Anthony, "they're really coming along," as he watched a private miss the wrist of his partner and take a fist straight to the jaw and went sprawling.

He glanced at the young woman next to him, hoping to elicit some response from her. He was worried about how closed off she had become to the world since the Bottle Ship incident. He knew it was hard for her to lose the man who had been her only guidance for so many years, but he was beginning to wonder if his death had permanently damaged her in some way. But today, she seemed even more reserved than usual.

"Come on Samus, talk to me. You're more quiet than usual."

"A year," came the quiet response.

"What?"

"It's been a year."

"Oh…" Anthony realized what it was. It had been a year ago, this day, that Adam had sacrificed himself.

"I've failed him. Right before he went into the Sector, he forbid me from coming after him. He called me a galactic savior. And what have I done? I destroyed the most important scientific ship in the Federation, and managed to destroy yet another planet! He told me he was merely human. But I'm worse! I've become a monster, decreeing what lives and dies."

"No, Samus. You're not a monster. You did what had to be done. You saved us all again. Few others would have the strength for that. If Adam were here, he'd be more proud than ever." Anthony knew that his words would be a futile effort, but he had to try.  
"Don't lie to me."  
"I'm not! I'm only trying to help."  
"Well, stop trying!"  
Anthony stood there, speechless. Samus had never been prone to such outbursts. "OK, tell me what's wrong.

Samus looked back into space. "Can you take the next class? I need some time alone."

Anthony had no choice but to agree. He watched sadly as she left the room, wishing he could somehow help.

Samus walked back along the Main Deck, alone with her thoughts. She couldn't understand what was wrong with her. Anthony was only trying to help, but she had treated him like shit. But it felt like he was trying to take Adam's place. "And no one can take his place," Samus thought, the anger rising up in her again. But couldn't he? She thought back on their brief conversation. The more she thought, the more ashamed she felt. She decided to turn around and apologize, just as an explosion rocked the ship.


	2. Chapter 2: Assault

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so any comments or suggestions, however harsh, would be greatly appreciated! Also, to clear any confusion, Samus is equipped with her beams from Metroid Prime.

Chapter Two: Assault

The massive ship shuddered under the impact of multiple missiles. Samus ran to the view window just in time to watch the Space Pirate ships launch another volley

"Warning. Warning. Hull breach has been detected in the Residential and Combat Simulator sectors. Please move quickly to your battle formations." The mechanized voice of Adam repeated over and over again.

Samus felt a flash of fear as she heard the news. Anthony was in the Combat Simulator! Concentrating, she felt the familiar weight as her Power Suit once again materialized around her. She took off running towards the sector, determined that no harm should come to him.

"Where the hell are you all coming from?!" Samus screamed as she turned the corner to find another group of Pirates. "At least they're all foot soldiers," she thought, as she wove and ducked around the pirates. Formidable though the pirates might be, they could not match the Hunter. One after the other, they fell to her fury. Some burned from the plasma beam. Some exploded from missiles. And still more continued to twitch well after death as electricity from the wave beam continued to course through their bodies.

Samus had almost reached Anthony when she found a barricade with several Federation soldiers guarding it.

"Aran! Thank goodness you came. The pirates must have saved a Berserker somewhere, because he rampaging just past us. We need your help!"

"Stay here. I'll take care of him," Samus replied coolly. She had thought they had all been eradicated after the destruction of Phaaze, but the pirates must've kept a few locked up. The fearsome pirate hissed as he saw her. The pirates must've taught him to destroy the Hunter on sight, for it immediately abandoned beating in the door it faced to come at her.

"Will they never learn," Samus sighed as she sent its energy blasts back at the beast, looking on with utter disdain as it fell. "Clear!" she yelled to the troopers behind her. Just as they emerged, calling their thanks, a reptilian voice split the air. Samus was surprised that it issued from the Berserker; she had never heard one speak before.

"You lose, Hunter!" came the labored voice of the dying behemoth. A small canister rolled out from it and began spewing blue smoke. Samus quickly scanned it. She couldn't help but stare at the ominous alert pulsing on her screen: Phazon Detected. He mind raced. "Phazon?! Impossible! All traces of Phazon were eradicated when Phaaze was destroyed!" Samus thought, "Thank goodness the Federation managed to download the data for the Phazon Suit." So busy was she with her thoughts that she never considered the Federation troopers behind her, who no such protection. Samus heard a tortured scream behind her. She turned to find the dozen soldiers she had rescued, doubled over and groaning. She barely managed to register this when the one closest to the Berserker suddenly locked eyes with her. She could see the blue glow of Phazon madness clouding his eyes. He charged her, screaming again. But now it wasn't a scream of pain and confusion. It was a scream of pure bloodlust as the soldier leapt at her, eager for her blood.

Only to taste one of her missiles as her self-preservation instincts took over. She knew she had to finish this one quickly before the others transformed. The first soldier fell to the ground, his armor cracked and smoking, his head little more than a twisted ruin in a grotesque impersonation of a human head. She felt a brief flash of relief, only to look up to see the eleven other soldiers converging on her.

Just as she was readying for battle, she had a brief thought. "Oh shit. Anthony!" Realizing that she had no time to waste, she curled into her morph ball and let a power bomb loose. The attacking, Phazon-crazed soldiers were vaporized instantly. Samus didn't pause as she sprinted past the smoking crater. She had to find her friend before it was too late.

She was almost there! She could see the entrance to the Combat Simulator just ahead of her. She was praying that she wasn't too late. There was so much she had to say to Anthony. Just as she reached the doors, though, a massive explosion rocked the ship. Samus could only stare in complete horror as the door-the only way into the sector-collapsed into a burning wreck. She had no time for despair though. A squadron of Galactic Federation troops ran towards her, sprinting from another Berserker. Seeing Samus there, the Berserker slid to a stop.

"Hey, Hunter! Here's a little gift…from Kraid!" the reptilian beast hissed at her.

"Kraid is dead, you bitch!" Samus yelled back.

"Oh, you fool! Kraid has come back, and he has an infallible plan. The Hunter shall become the hunted!" And with that final declaration, the behemoth fired a Phazon grenade into the midst of the fleeing soldier. It looked on, and its face seemed to twist into a disgusting façade of amusement as the soldiers thrashed.

Samus was angry. There was no other word to describe it. "Damn. I haven't felt like this since the B.S.L. Station," she thought. And she hadn't. No matter how many mock combats she had done while instructing new recruits, they did nothing to create this feeling. She didn't feel afraid. That emotion in combat had been quelled during her Chozo training. She didn't feel anger. That had been taught to her as a death trap, as the bloodlust could overwhelm her sense and reasoning. She felt only one thing as the squad of Phazon-crazed soldiers rushed at her, the Berserker lumbering towards her behind them. Her enemies were in front of her. And they were going to die.

One battle, several explosions, and a bad-ass line delivered as she sent the fatal shot through the Berserker's skull, Samus felt…great. She had forgotten what it was like to engage in this bloody battle of life and death. But then her thoughts returned to Anthony, and she rushed towards the door to see if there was anyway past it. Her built-in computer confirmed what she had feared. There was no way through. There was no time for despair, however. The general of the spaceship had just contacted her with orders to go to the engine room. It seemed the Pirates were making a full press for that critical area.

"Strange," she thought, "Pirates usually don't try to go there. They typically gather what loot they can and leave the ship a metal tomb for its crew." Then the realization hit her, and she felt an icy grip of fear constrict her. The reborn Kraid was plotting something big. He knew, from her defeat of their operation on Zebes, that she was their biggest threat. Furthermore, the Pirates somehow knew she was assigned to this ship, and this wasn't a random attack. They knew she was aboard. So they were going to take the ship down. With a burst of adrenaline also not felt since she had battled the SA-X, Samus turned a sprinted towards the engine room, determined to save the ship.


	3. Chapter 3: Purpose

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so any comments or suggestions, however harsh, would be greatly appreciated!

Chapter 3: The Words of Adam

Samus sprinted towards the engine room, where the Space Pirates were trying to destroy the G.F.S. Malkovich. Realizing that she was on the ship dedicated to her former mentor, Samus redoubled her speed. She felt her grief return for an instant, refusing to be ignored despite the horror around her. "Focus!" she told herself, "Adam wouldn't let his feeling endanger those around him!"

Reaching the engine room, she quickly forged a path through the huge hoard of Pirates to reach the Federation barricade. She also took time to notice the lack of Berserkers present at the siege. She knew if one was there, the battle would be hopeless. The monster would turn all the troops there Phazon-crazy, if it didn't simply barge through the barricade and kill them all. Knowing that they know had a twisted sense of humor, she assumed that they would take pleasure turning their mortal enemies into raging, primitive beasts. She ran to the commander in charge of the defense and asked what could be done to help.

"Just murder those sons of bitches!" came the aggravated reply.

And so it began. For what seemed like hours, she charged through the Pirate offensive. Missiles sent the marauders flying through the air, while ice beam shots froze them until she shattered them with a simple well-placed kick, augmented by her suit. She was cursed, spit at, threatened, and even laughed at, but they seemed like simple matters when she sent the offenders burning into a pile of ash. Still, it wasn't enough. She came to a realization that the Pirates, knowing how well defended the ship was, had thrown every available trooper they had into this mission, knowing it was crucial to destroy her. Even then, she thought they had hope. Then she saw another Berserker. She could swear it winked at her, before it sent another blue grenade flying towards the assembled defenders.

"Scatter!" she screamed at the troops, knowing that it was a futile effort. A few got away, but they were quickly cut down by the beasts that had become of their friends and fellow soldiers. The Pirates just sat back and watched as the few remaining sane soldiers were killed, several even being torn limb from limb, blood spraying as the men they trusted to guard their backs tore their last breath from them in a horrifying display of savagery. The Pirates laughed as their enemies were murdered in the worst way imaginable, not just physical but mental as well, being attacked by one's own friends. After killing their fellow soldiers, the Phazon-crazies of course turned to the assembled Pirates.

But while they were perfect for hunting down fleeing, terrified beings, they couldn't withstand the concentrated fire of the assembled Pirates. Samus stood forgotten in the shadows, watching the horror around her. She felt a guilty sense of relief when she saw that Anthony was not among the dead and the dying, not knowing his fate. Yet another explosion rocked the ship, this time accompanied by the droning voice of the AI.

"Warning. Engine function has ceased. Please evacuate the facility immediately." This announcement was almost immediately followed by a second announcement. "Escape pods launched. Please go to the hanger for evacuation"

As the ship shuddered and the alarms blared, Samus realized with a desperate feeling of failure that there was no more she could do for the doomed ship. She had failed everyone. She had failed the soldiers who saw her as their savior. She had failed the generals who had trusted her to keep her safe. She had failed Anthony. But most of all, she had failed Adam. When she came to this thought, all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry. She remembered some of his last words to her, as she desperately tried to prevent him from entering the sector. "_I'm no galactic savior. I'm merely human." _Why was she always the otherworldly superhuman who would save the day no matter what? When would she get to be human? But then she recalled other words Adam had spoken to her, on her very first day in the Galactic Federation army. "_I sense strength in you. Strength that means you never give up. Strength that means you can conquer any obstacle, no matter how insurmountable it may seem."_

With these words running through her mind, Samus realized that it wasn't over yet. As the ship hurtled towards the nearest planet, drawn by the gravity without the engines to resist, she found a new sense of purpose. She hadn't failed Adam yet. She would find this new Pirate operation. And she would destroy them all. As the ship hurtled to its doom, Samus sprinted to her ship, determined to make the Pirates pay for the devastation they had wrought.


	4. Chapter 4: Crash

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so any comments or suggestions, however harsh, would be greatly appreciated! Also, to clear any confusion, Samus is equipped with her beams from Metroid Prime.

Chapter 4: Crash

As she sprinted towards her ship, Samus listened to the constant updates given by the Adam A.I.

"Please evacuate immediately. The ship will land in 5 minutes."

Samus almost had to laugh. "The ship will land? That's totally what's about to happen!" she thought sarcastically.

As she journeyed, she continually had to dodge around Pirates and some of the few remaining survivors of the troops stationed aboard. She wished she could stop to help, but there was nothing she could do. She did stop to rescue a group of besieged soldiers huddling in fear, frantically dodging the shots of laughing Pirates, enjoying their frantic dancing. Her Screw Attack proved particularly effective, allowing her to go spin jumping straight through the gleeful monsters, sending them glittering

As the ship tore itself apart in the atmosphere, Samus had to begin dodging burning chunks of twisted metal as it rained down around her. She had almost made it to the hangar when an especially large piece fell right on top of her.

She barely managed to avoid it, backflipping out of the way. However, there was no avoiding the electrical cords whipping down, following the near-fatal rock. Even more unfortunately, it was the wires that carried power for the main electrical grid. Protective her armor might be, but there was no protecting it from the millions of volts that went coursing through it.

"Oh shit!" she screamed as her visor began flashing red. Warning messages began flashing past.

"Warning. Electrical Overload. Critical damage done to systems pertaining to the plasma beam, wave beam, ice beam, power bombs, bombs, screw attack, and Phazon suit."

At last the electrical onslaught ended as the main power supply was destroyed. Some explosive-happy Pirate had unknowingly saved her life. Samus looked up in the corner and saw a camera blinking its light at her.

"Wait…if that camera is working, they could've seen me. Why would they cut off the power?" Shaken by how close she had come to death, Samus continued, wondering if she had an unknown ally in the pirate hoard.

Entering the hanger, Samus saw several Federation soldiers sprinting towards the last remaining ship in the hangar, besides her own.

"Good. At least some survived." She thought. Then she saw the massive Berserker loping behind her.

"The Pirates must've saved a ton of Phazon to produce this many Berserkers!" With the destruction of Phaaze, the source of all Phazon, there was no other way to produce the substance.

Changing her course, she was determined to stop the Berserker from harming one more human. She was too late however, as the horror grabbed the final soldier mere meters from the safety of the ship. Holding the boarding ramp from retracting with its powerful legs, the Berserker removed a vial filled with a blue substance. He injected it into the struggling soldier, then, with a reptilian rasping laugh, set the transforming beast onto the ramp and released it. The ship immediately took off, before the screams started. The engine cut just out of the hangar, and the ship plummeted towards the surface below.

Realizing that she was wasting time, Samus knew there was nothing else she could do. She climbed aboard her ship and took off, just as Adam announced 30 until impact. She sent a last goodbye missile to destroy the Berserker and flew away.

She flew towards the surface, frantically dodging missiles of melted metal that flew from the disintegrating ship. She could still swear that she could still hear the voice of the computer, counting down until the impact. That dry, emotionless voice that was all she had left of her beloved mentor. She watched in horror as the G.F.S. Malkovich careened into the planet below. It started as a deep rumble as the ship ground into the surface below. Then ripples went flying out from the ship, sending the sand from the desert it had crashed into flying in all directions. Fire sprang in gouts all along the metal skin, and she could almost her the dying screams of the trapped crew, and the joyful cries of the Pirates as they destroyed one of the biggest ships in their hated enemies' fleet. In one final, shuddering, awful, screech, the ship slid to a stop. A final series of explosion sounded inside of it as the fuel compartments finally blew, sending yet more hunks of metal flying from the ship. The world grew eerily quiet, as if the world was holding its breath.

As she watched the fiery vessel crash and explode, she felt a pang of loss. That ship had been built, named and dedicated to Adam. While it regularly triggered painful memories, it had comforted her knowing that she was not to only one in pain over his loss. Watching her final connection to him burn in a ruined hulk, she felt an acute wave of grief returned. It felt like she had lost him all over again. Letting her autopilot control her ship, she hunched over, head in her hands. The tears began to fall, but she made no effort to stop them. She knew that everyone expected her to be the strong one, the invincible one. But she knew that no one could hold back what she was feeling. She cried for her lost confidante. She cried for her lost mentor. But mostly, she cried for her lost father.

It wasn't until hours later that she had recovered enough to find out where she was. Her ship's computer told her that she was hovering above the planet Carpathia-VII, in a desert region know as the Desert of Sorrow. "Perfect. That's what I need right now in my life. More sorrow," the bounty hunter thought. It also informed her that large amounts of Pirate activity were detected.

Her grief was gone now. It was these monsters that had built Mother Brain. These monsters led the G.F. to build the Bottle Ship, in an effort to find a weapon to destroy them. These monsters had led to the death of Adam. Her ship rocketed towards the surface as an anger hotter than Norfair bubbled beneath her skin.


	5. Chapter 5: First Encounter

All things in the Metroid franchise belong to Nintendo

Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated! Sorry that I haven't been able to update in a while, but I've been really busy with school and sports. I also want to thank Starbound Huntress for that great advice!

Chapter 5: First Encounter

Samus slowly picked her way through the wreckage of the G.F.S. Malkovich, in the middle of the Desert of Sorrow. She was hoping to find any sort of sign of survivors, though her ever-reliable instincts told her that no one could have survived a crash of such magnitude. She discovered remains of troopers, Pirates and even a few Berserkers. The most horrifying were the ones whose faces had been left intact. The troopers' faces were horrible, etched with expressions of horror, or, even, worse, resignation to their imminent doom. She even found a few who looked like they had died in prayer.

"and may God watch over you,' Samus thought.

The Pirates faces were infinitely worse than even the troopers. Samus could barely stand to look at their expressions of glee. She couldn't even describe it as happy. Happiness wasn't that twisted and malicious. They looked like a group of cruel hunters who played with a wounded deer instead of ending its misery. She continued to pick her way through the twisted, burning wreckage, though she began to despair of ever finding any hope there. She realized with a pang that the stubborn reason for which she refused to give up was in a tiny, fast-fading hope that she would find Anthony, somehow still alive. Without out him…and without Adam…

"I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do…" She was beginning to realize that without the warm, comforting presence of Anthony, she was having more and more difficulty holding her grief at bay. The only reason she wasn't beginning to descend into utter despair was because she couldn't help but cling to that tiny hope that her only friend was still somewhere out there.

"Ha! That stupid Federation!" A reptilian voice snapped he rout of her thoughts, causing her to dive behind cover.

"They thought that they were so safe with their high and mighty battleship," came an answering hiss.

"They couldn't even stand against our newest recruits. Just wait until they come against the Army of Nicolae!"

"_The army of Nicolae? What the hell could that be?" _Samus thought. She concentrated again on the foraging Pirates.

"Yes," came the second voice, "once we are done on this planet we will be the most formidable army the universe has ever seen! And with that damned Hunter out of the way, that pathetic Galactic Federation doesn't stand a chance."

"Don't assume she's dead. You remember the General? He had just your sort of confidence in her demise, and look where he ended up."

"He didn't crash a battleship with her in it."

"Look, let's just finish up here so we can report back to Kraid. He and the General will want to be sure of her demise"

A grunt came in acknowledgement.

Samus' mind raced as she processed the conversation she was overhearing. It sounded like Kraid was the new leader of the Pirates.

"And the General…could that be…"

She froze. It was impossible! That evil beast had been completely destroyed, his remains completely eradicated in the destruction of the Bottle Ship. At least she had been able to obey Adam's final commands in that regard. The mysterious General must be something else.

"Ah, the battle must've been glorious!" the reptilian voices drifted back to Samus, "Imagine their idiotic faces as they saw their comrades turning on them, madness in their eyes!"

"Where's the glory in using such a power that the enemy cannot dream of having at their disposal anymore? I prefer to meet them in a face-to-face battle, so they can see their doom coming."

"Quit with your talk of honor and glory. The only honor is in victory, and for victory, any advantage must be seized."

For reason unfathomable to her, this simple statement angered Samus beyond reason. Stripped of most of her weapons she may be, but she was still way beyond the capabilities of these two grunts. She readied her missile as she waited for the two to pass by her.

"Look at what happened here! Nothing could have survived this! She's dead, so let's get back to base before we miss the nighttime meal." Samus almost had to stifle her laughter at that last sentence.

"Fine, fine," came the second voice, "but we'd better make our report look good."

Finally, the two were right in front of her. She silently rose up behind them as they turned. There was no way these two were making it back.

"Make it look good. It will be your last." The words were out before she could stop herself.

'It's her! Kill her!" screamed the second of the pair.

He was too late, though. Well made Pirate armor might be, but a missile blast from 3 meters had rendered his partner a smoking, bloody, broken mess.

Samus deftly dodged the hasty blast sent her way by the desperate Pirate. She leapt his way and tackled him to the ground, holding his gun well away from her body.

"How the hell did you survive?! We destroyed the entire ship!"

Samus could only look with utter hatred as her hand came around his head. She twisted, and his spine snapped with a wet crack. She reached for his comm. System, and sent a message back to the base.

"Learn from this, you scum. I am the Hunter. I am alive. I don't know who the hell you are, but I will find you. I will find you, and I will destroy you. I am the Hunter. I will hunt you!"

She slammed her foot down on the small device, shattering the casing.


	6. Chapter 6: Of Beams and Queens

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo.

This is my first fanific, so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to anyone who's read this so far!

Chapter 6: Of Beams and Queens

Samus bent down to examine the second dead trooper. His head was twisted at an unnatural angle, and his face was twisted in an odd mixture of surprise and pure and utter hatred.

Samus had found little of value on the first Pirate.

"But," she thought, "there was nothing left but a hunk of smoking armor and flesh." She almost shuddered at the brief, morbid pleasure she felt at the thought.

The second trooper, who was relatively undamaged, had yielded better fruit. She had already used the com to issue a warning to the planet-bound Pirates, though she already regretted that. She would have preferred to stay in secret a little while longer.

"Damnit, that's why Old Bird taught me to control my anger," she growled to herself. Lately, though, her control had been slipping.

The com hadn't been the only thing she had found. She had found a small capsule containing map data for the desert she was in. She found that she was on the far western edge. The desert was roughly circular, about 250 miles in diameter. The map held no data pertaining to any Pirate activity in the area, however.

The final thing she found was most curious. It seemed similar in design to the objects she used to power up her beam systems, but it was pure white. There was no color, no revolving insignia to indicate what she could use it for. She quickly scanned it.

"Object scanned," her visor reported, "Space Pirate design detected. Empty Beam Module. This was given to a Pirate when they were promoted to a sufficient rank. They may use this Module to upgrade themselves with any beam they wish. To choose a beam, scan the element of the beam into the computer."

"That could be useful," Samus thought, "I could have any type of beam I wanted."

Thinking of an idea, she fired a missile into the distance and quickly tried to scan it with the Beam Module. However, it was too gone from sight. The data evidently took quite some time to download. It was a shame, though. She wanted to see what a missile beam could do.

Deciding to worry about the module at a different time, she set off across the desert. She chose north, randomly, as she had no point of reference to choose a direction.

4 hours later, she had traveled only about 25 miles. Every few hundred feet, a pack of creatures that her computer identified as Kryps erupted from the sand. They looked like huge wolves, roughly 7 feet from nose to tail, except that they were comparatively slender and covered in incredibly tough, shiny golden-brown scales. The little bastards were very difficult to kill in her lessened state.

Suddenly, after she had fought off her tenth or so wave of the reptilian beasts, the sand seemed to expand slightly, then collapse inward. A massive Kryp arose in front of her.

"A Queen Kryp," her scan informed her, "These beasts can be anywhere from 15 to 22 feet in length. She commands the hive. They are immensely strong, and their scales are virtually impenetrable. They can spit an acid that is formed in their stomach. This acid is extremely corrosive, deadly even to their own kind. Avoid at all costs."

She didn't like the sound of that.

"Well, come on then, you bitch. Let's have at it," she hissed. The creature only glared in response. In a move so gracefully synchronized, as if they had practiced forever for this single moment, Hunter and beast leapt towards each other. And the battle began.

The computer sure hadn't been lying. The creature had massive strength. Unfortunately, Queen Kryps were also lightning quick. This was evidenced when it darted forward so quickly that it left an afterimage of itself in its wake. Not that it really mattered to Samus, though. She was in no shape to be examining any afterimages. She was currently flying through the air, batted by a massive paw too quick too avoid.

Luckily, there was a large sand dune behind her that kept her from being launched too far. She shook her head, not seriously harmed, and launched herself back into the battle.

The battle went on. She had learned that the beast, while quick, was not precise. She used her morph ball-thankfully that hadn't been damaged by the electricity-to avoid its swipes, and jumped and rolled to avoid the acid that Queen spit. Wherever the acid struck, the sand sizzled and sank a few inches as the top layer was dissolved.

Despite her ability to dodge and keep safe, however, Samus was completely ineffectual in attack on her own. Her powered-down abilities simply could not pierce the scales of this terrifying denizen. She tried attacking its eyes, or its throat when it opened to spit acid at her, but the beast knew its weaknesses. Its eyes were kept narrowed to tiny slits, and it spit quickly, clamping its maw shut immediately closed. She began to despair that it might ever be defeated.

She began to take hits as she tired. The first was a glancing blow by a swiping paw that sent her stumbling backwards several meters, barely avoiding a second follow-up attack. Later, as she flipped out of the way of a deadly swipe, a ball of acid struck right leg. Her suit withstood the attacks, but it took a severe chunk out of her energy reserves. She knew that she didn't have much time left before the beast took her down. It was time for a little unorthodox action.

She had observed that when the Kryp spit at her, it closed its eyes reflexively, in a reaction not unlike a human sneezing. So when the next acidic attack flew her way, she dove into her Morph Ball and rolled between the beast's legs in the split-second that its eyes were closed.

The Queen paused, one taloned paw raised to strike, as it looked around in confusion for its quarry. The mystery was quickly remedied when Samus leaped onto its head from behind.

Flailing wildly, the beast clawed at its own head in an attempt to dislodge her. Despite only having one hand (with the other being taken up by her arm cannon), Samus' strength, artificially augmented by her Power Suit, was more than sufficient to keep her clinging on. She wrapped her arms around its neck, and, with a titanic effort, yanked open one of its eyelids to expose the bulbous, bright green orb.

She reached out her other arm and, as hard as she could, jabbed her arm cannon into its eye. The eye exploded into large globs of blood and pus, splattering all over Samus. She ignored the gore and stabbed again, penetrating even deeper within its skull. She squeezed off sever Power Beam shots. Then, in order to ensure the kill, she fired off a missile.

The effect was devastating. To say the head exploded would be a gross understatement. Gouts of fire erupted all along the contours of the skull. Brain, bone, scales and other bits of unidentified matter flew in all directions as the blast hurled Samus from her perch.

Landing heavily, she turned to examine the results of her handiwork. The Queen Kryp slowly keeled over, in an unexpectedly graceful way. Graceful, that is, except for the gaping hole in its skull that exposed the inside of its head, or what was left of it.

She began to walk away when she tripped over a small depression in the sand. Looking back, she saw a spot where the beast's acidic attacks had burned away a part of the sand. Slowly, an idea formed in her mind. She pulled out the Beam Module and smiled.

Walking back to the mammoth carcass, she headed for the reptilian underside. She was pleased to see that the belly was much more lightly armored, or she never would have gotten past it without a loss of time that she could ill afford.

Firing of another missile-luckily the Pirates had been carrying ammo- she blew apart the weak scales and exposed the innards. Recalling her scan, she began to search for the creature's stomach.

It was quite possibly the most disgusting thing that she had ever done. She had to use her Power Beam to constantly disintegrate portions of the Kryp's intestines. She then would have to rip other parts, silently being thankful for the filter in her suit. The stench had to be awful. Nothing could protect her from the sprays of blood, matter and half-digested animals that came with each yank or shot fired. She almost puked when she discovered evidence of other Kryps in the massive gut.

Finally, she found what she was looking for. With a final shot, she managed to carve her way into the denizen's main stomach chamber. She steeled herself for what she was about to do.

Hesitant not to touch the acid within, she drew out the Beam Module. She thumbed the control on the side and waited. After about thirty seconds, a small message appeared.

"Substance deemed acceptable for beam weapon. Commence download of Acid Beam?'

Without a second of hesitation, Samus selected yes.


	7. Chapter 7: The Desert of Sorrow

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo.

This is my first fanific, so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you to anyone who's read this so far! Also, I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to post any new chapters. This is my first year of high school, so yeah…I'm a little busy.

Chapter 7: Sorrowful Thoughts

Samus grinned in satisfaction as the sixth and final Kryp of the current pack melted into a puddle of steaming goo. Ever since she had obtained the Acid Beam from the Queen, her reptilian underlings had proved to be no difficulty. The acid in the cannibalistic Queen had proven most efficient in melting through the other creatures' otherwise diamond-hard scales.

She hadn't known what to expect when she first fired the beam. It seemed to be a little like the Ice Beam. When fired, it shot out a large sickly green ball. As soon as the ball touched anything solid, it lost its cohesion, causing the acid to splash over whatever had caused the break. It seemed even powerful than the Queen's version.

She recalled her excitement when she had tested it on the first pack of Kryps she came across. With the first shot, the creature would dissolve, sometimes shrieking in agony, other times in complete silence. The word about the human-like figure clad in dull orange armor seemed to be spreading, along what ever channels these reptilian beasts used for communication. Less and less packs attacked her, realizing that they couldn't withstand the strange weapon the being fired at them.

Watching the last creature disappear in a bright-green pool, Samus continued her trek across the Desert of Sorrow.

"What an aptly named piece of shit this is…" Samus thought sometime later. The Kryp attacks had completely ceased, so now she was just alone with her thoughts.

The desert was laid out before her, her vision crystal clear for miles in any direction. The land was virtually flat, broken only by occasional tiny mounds of sand. The two suns overhead had moved past the midway point in the sky.

With nothing visible except for the dull orange sand, it forced anyone who dared to trek across the scorching sand to reflect upon their thoughts. The solitude was comforting on its surface, yet beneath held a terrible, unending sense of danger beneath, like a warm bed with spikes beneath the mattress.

Samus wished that another Kryp pack would attack. She could use the cold sense of clarity that combat always came with combat. There was a disturbing joy in battle. There was no time for thinking, when life and death were the width of a strand of hair away from each other. There was only attack and defend, act and react. A deadly dance that held no secrets, no surprises. There was simply the opponent, your strength against yours. It was a ritual that was strangely calming.

On the other hand, there was nothing straightforward about an attack from one's own mind. There was no visible attacker, nothing to fight or flee from. You could try to escape, but how can you escape that originates from inside of you?

These thoughts danced around in Samus' head as she marched across the desert sands. Normally, she enjoyed her solitude. But that was when she knew that, had she needed a friend or a confidant, they would be there for her. The desert held no such sense of security.

"It's as if you are the last one alive..." Samus thought, "It's as if, no matter where you go, there will only be this; this empty wasteland that stretches one forever…"

Confronted with such feelings, Samus could only think about those she had loved. Her mother and father were faded from her mind, for Ridley had torn them from her at such an early that there were only snatches of remembrance left. A mother's warm hug, a father's comforting words.

And, as they had so often in the last months, she thought of Adam. He had been a shield to her through her Federation days, a guard against the forces of the other recruits that threatened to crush her resolve. Ironically, he had been killed by the very force that he had fought to protect for so long, a victim of a corrupt Federation faction aboard the Bottle Ship. She had vowed to find these traitors, and destroy them for taking from her the only father she had truly known.

She thought of her teacher of old, Old Bird. A member of the peace-loving Chozo race, yet he had taught her to be the fierce warrior she was today. It was he that instilled the lessons that she continued to follow. He had taken her warrior's instinct and shaped it into a fiery sword, burning within her soul. She owed her life to him.

Lastly, she thought of Anthony. He had always been there for her, despite her constant attempts to push away all others. The other members aboard the giant ship had given up, convinced that the famed Huntress was no more. Only Anthony fought on, never believing for an instant that the old her was gone. He had protected her when the grief had threatened to overwhelm her, holding her strong against the unrelenting onslaught. And he too had been torn from her in an instant…

These thoughts battled for dominance as she trekked on. She couldn't believe the vast distance she had covered, yet there seemed to be no end to the horrible monotony. Her thoughts turned back to her last hours on the ship. The screams…the terror…the smell of blood in the air. The screeching laughter of the Pirates as the danced in the carnage they had so lovingly caused. The terror had almost been a physical being, as it was exuded from all the Federation troops around her.

Yet there was a glimmer of hope. As she flew away from the station, a final transport was being boarded. But a Berserker had set a Phaze-crazed soldier among them. She had seen the engines die, the craft slowly plummeting to the surface of the planet. Though her head knew that they were dead, her heart held on to that sliver of desperate hope. There had to be other survivors!

As if the entire world responded to the change in her mood, she glimpsed a sliver of green on the horizon.


	8. Chapter 8: Glorious Battle

Everything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo

This is my first fanfic, so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Also, thank you so much to blaiseingfire for their amazing support of this story!

Chapter 8: Glorious Battle

Samus felt a tremendous sense of relief wash over her as she stepped from the bleak, desolate wastelands into the verdant green of the forest beyond.

This is better then the desert, but damn is this place annoying!" Samus thought as she shoved her way through the low-hanging vines. The purplish-green tendrils spiraled down from the towering trees, tangling and ensnaring anything that attempted to push through them. They were covered with sticky barbs that got stuck on her armor, and then stuck to her hand when she tried to rip it free.

Not only were the vines annoying, they were potentially dangerous. The tendrils impeded her vision to such an extent that she could never see more than five feet in front of her at a time. If any Pirates were aware she was there, she could be so easily ambushed.

She scanned the vines and obtained data about them.

"Scan complete", her computer reported, "Species confirmed as Creeper Vines. These vines hang low from the native ginkgo trees, and secrete a sticky fluid that ensnares and liquefies small insects. Suggest using Morph Ball to avoid."

"Not a bad idea," Samus thought.

And it wasn't. Though the Creeper Vines hung very low to the ground, roughly half a meter, the fluids seemed to not extend that far. The vines no longer clung to her in her ball form, and she could move much more quickly. Also, she was pleased at how much more hidden she was.

She was actually starting to enjoy the scenery. While the forest was as secluded as the Desert of Sorrow, it didn't carry the same feeling with it. The forest, which she had discovered was called the Forest of Ancients, was a place of safety and peace. She felt like she could relax against the trunk of one of the massive trees and forget her worries.

After a few more hours of travel, she was relaxing in just such a way. She had actually begun to drift off to sleep when reptilian voices roused her.

"What the hell are we doing here again?"

"Quiet, you fool. Remember, it has been confirmed that the Hunter is planet-bound. She brutally murdered two members of E-squad. We found her ship in the desert, but that has been taken care of."

"What did those sons of bitches do to my ship?!" Samus thought. She went back to listening.

"How'd we find it there? She has ever eluded our efforts before."

"The idiot actually told us she was here," came a third voice, "on one of E-squad's radios, which we traced to the desert."

Damn. She knew she would come to regret that.

It seemed a large number of Pirates were here, for she heard a fourth voice.

"How long do they expect us to wait? She could have gone in any direction."

The second voice she heard, seemingly the leader, responded immediately. "Until the General or Kraid remove us! Now get back into place, or I'll kill you here and now and say a Borer got you!" There came a cracking sound, and Samus got the idea that the member had just been pistol-whipped.

The leader continued, "We must protect the Hive at all costs until the Injection is complete."

"The Injection…that can't be good," Samus decided she had heard enough.

Thankfully, her Morph Ball transition was silent. She curled around the trunk of the tree, and came upon a circle of Pirates. A quick count told her that she faced ten. She almost laughed; it was going to be too easy.

She quietly uncurled from the ball behind the nearest Pirate. Reaching out, she yanked him behind the tree.

He tried to cry out, but was silenced by her left hand over his mouth. Her other arm curled around his neck. She squeezed briefly, crushing his windpipe. She could see the terror in his eyes as he tried to cry out, then the spark of life slowly fading.

"Where did Private 8-02 go?" came the cry from the leader.

"I bet a Borer got him," said one high-pitched, quavering voice. A new recruit, Samus guessed.

Deciding to come out into the open, Samus singled out the leader, identifiable by the red stripes on his armor, in her sights. She let loose an Acid Beam shot, following up with two more, not knowing the resistance of the armor.

"Look out! She's here!" This cry did not come from the leader. He was already dead, exposed organs and bones showing through the giant hole in his face and chest. His shining skull grinned at her.

"Call for backup! We need reinforce…" This command was cut off as Samus lunged through the brush, tackling the Pirate. A few quick Power Beam shots reduced his head to a bloody pulp.

Recovering from their shock, the Pirates began slashing and shooting at Samus. It made little difference. She moved as a blur, dodging, shooting, crushing, killing.

Samus had never known such a feeling. Except for Ridley, the beast she hated so much, she bore few of the Pirates personal enmity. She had always remained in a cold, calculating state when battling them, staying detached from her emotions.

The attack on the Federation vessel had changed matters. For the first time, she had seen Pirates who weren't simple killing machines, humanoids devoid of any emotion. Now, they were more than pawns. They were more than obstacles for her to overcome. They had shown such a capacity for cruelty and corruption that she couldn't believe that one being could contain it all. They deserved to suffer.

She had completely abandoned her training. Letting her anger flood throughout her entire body, she tore through the squad. She felt invincible. What a joy it was to slaughter the enemies of the peace! She almost cackled with joy.

Such was her ecstasy that, as the final soldier fell with a gaping hole where a stomach used to be, she actually sprayed several shots in a circle, desperate for her next opponent, before she realized that they were gone.

She searched their bodies, striding through the blood and gore around her as if it were nothing but grass. Disappointed to find no more Beam Modules, she did however find a large knife that slid into a sheath above her left knuckles, a razor sharp blade that extended over 8 inches past her clenched fist. She was admiring it when she heard the sound of engines overhead. The reinforcements had come.

Pirates fell like rain around her. She counted over thirty in all, more than she had ever faced at one time before. She couldn't wait to begin.iveHi

Before the all the Pirates had even landed, she moved. Diving into her Morph Ball, she set a bomb near the first enemy, blowing his legs off at the knees. Straightening again, Samus grabbed the next one and held him in front of her. He jerked several times as dozens off shots from the other Pirates, seeking Samus, obliterated his life.

Dropping the lifeless body, Samus whipped around as a Pirate tried to sneak up behind her. She grabbed him and, with a brief slash, slit his throat with her new blade. She let off two Acid Beam shots, taking one Pirate on his gun arm and another in the chest. The first Pirate fell to his knees, clutching his arm in horror as it dissolved. The other slowly keeled over, ominously silent.

Samus continued to tear through the soldiers, though she was careful of her energy levels. She knew that she couldn't evade every shot.

The Pirates had made a critical mistake, however. They were so numerous that they actually impeded each other as they leapt forward, eager for the blood of the Hunter. Several of them were killed by shots fired by their own sides as Samus evaded them.

Again and again, Pirates fell. Samus tackled one before standing and crushing his throat with her heel. She grabbed the next and stabbed him in the gut. She ripped upwards, and blood and innards sprayed everywhere as the mortally wounded Pirate fell.

She knew that the power of her Arm Cannon gave her an enormous advantage, between her missiles, Power Beam, and new Acid Beam. However, she was again breaking some of those maxims drilled into her skull by Old Bird. She was completely immersed in her anger and adrenaline, enjoying the feeling of Pirate flesh and armor giving way beneath her fury. It was one thing to simply snipe them all, but that was the old her. Emotionless, unfeeling, focused only on the job before her. That Samus had reveled only in efficiency.

But not anymore. She was beginning to appreciate the glory of physical battle. It was her against the enemy, and she would win because of her prowess in battle, not her suit's power.

She still used her Arm Cannon, of course. Countless Pirates were dead because of it, and she was not so completely foolish as to discontinue its use simply because she had found a different form of battle.

With a hideous scream, falling in a spray of his own blood, another Pirate fell. There remained but one. Samus had one final surprise for him. She powered down her suit.

The trooper stared in astonishment. She stood in only her Zero Suit, arms spread wide in an obvious invitation of attack. It must have seemed to be the height of stupidity to the Pirate, for her to give up the reason that she had become such a threat to them. No doubt he was already imagining the glories awarded to him as the one who finally ended the Hunter.

Shaking off his amazement, the soldier charged. His gun was up and firing. Samus noted with amusement that the device seemed to be modeled upon her own Arm Cannon, as if the Space Pirates were attempting to take her power for her own.

What fools they were, to think one's power lay in the strength of their arms. Samus meant to teach this Pirate his final lesson. Weapons are nothing without someone to wield them.

As his bullets sped towards her, followed by the recklessly charging soldier, she was ready. She dove to the side, rolling back to her feet in a graceful move, as though it were all a dance. Unable to stop or turn, the Pirate charged right by.

Before he could even turn, she was on him. Coming up behind him, she dropped to one leg and lashed out with her other. The move cut the Pirates legs out from under him, and he went sprawling. She stood by and watched as he sprung back to his feet, no in the least bit worried about her own safety.

"What a misguided, arrogant fool you are, hunter," the trooper growled at her, "to give up all of your power. Oh, how my comrades will laugh as I tell them of your end."

"Power is relative, scum," Samus replied in an equally low hiss, "A weapon's power is found not in its casing, but in the body of the one who deploys it. You bastards have put all of your efforts into your weapons. You have not given any thought as to how powerful those are who wields them. That is why you fail. That is why, despite your countless efforts to destroy me, you are the ones who forever have fallen. I know where power is. And it isn't in your gun."

"Power is in the wielder, you say? I would bet the newest recruit to destroy you now. The Chozo made you what you are. Without their technology, you are nothing. They built you up. Yet I…I will be the one to tear you down!"

"As much shit comes out of your mouth, you are correct in one aspect. The Chozo made me what I am today. But it wasn't their weapons. It wasn't their technology. It was their teachings. Oh yes, they made me what I am. They made me into the one who will destroy you." And she attacked.

The Pirate laughed. He calmly raised his gun, taking aim. He fired a single shot, convinced that one is all this fight required.

Only to find his quarry unharmed. She had simply jumped, turning into a flip that sent her far over the killing shot. She landed as light as a cat and continued her advance.

The Pirate frowned, disappointed that his first attempt had failed. He was no more concerned than before, though. She looked so puny compared to his large armor-covered frame. He took aim again.

Samus couldn't believe the arrogance of this soldier. He had been completely ineffectual in attack thus far, had actually been knocked on his ass himself, yet he laughed at her and didn't even bother to attempt an evasion of her attack. She cart-wheeled out of the way, displaying an athleticism that was beyond her reach when weighed down by her armor. She had forgotten how stifling the thing could become.

The Pirate was becoming pissed. There was no way this pathetic little insect could hope to destroy him without her infamous Power Suit. If she was so foolish as to take it off, why did she insist on being so damn annoying when she had no hope of victory? Shaking his head, he raised his gun again.

Only to find it wrenched violently to the side. Samus jumped into the air, spinning into a kick that knocked the gun far too the side. While he was still off balance, she kicked out yet again, connecting with the side of his knee. The blow sent him down on one knee, screaming his pain. His eyes were murderous.

Samus smiled at him, a full mocking grin. If anything, it doubled his rage. He leapt to his feet and punched at her with his gun-covered arm. With its heavy metal covering, the punch could have easily killed her if it connected. It was not to be, however.

She reached out and grabbed the end, stopping the blow and holding it far from the side. She spun in close to him, using her momentum to slam her elbow down on his arm, which she was still holding straight.

The snap of his bone echoed throughout the ancient trees, followed by the cry of rage and pain. Before he could recover, she hooked his other arm with her own. She quickly turned, actually using his weight to aid her throw. He sailed through the air and struck a tree, then tumbled to the ground. He struggled to rise as Samus slowly approached.

She set her foot on his back, pinning him down to the forest floor. He struggled, but was given no reprise.

"Do you understand the difference now," Samus whispered in his ear, "between us? You live by the weapon you hold. The weapon I hold is alive because of me."

A flock of birds rose from the trees, startled by the sharp crack of his neck snapping.


	9. Chapter 9: The Forest Outpost

Anything in the Metroid franchise belongs to Nintendo.

Thank you, everyone who had read this, for all of your support of this story so far!

Chapter 9: The Forest Outpost

Samus combed through the small fortress that the Pirates maintained in the Forest of Ancients. It only had about three rooms, but was no less interesting because of that fact.

First, Samus hacked into their computer databases. It seemed that, though the leader seemed to display some authority, this mission was one for grunts, a mere lookout post for any enemies. The computers held very little information, mainly the parameters for the mission. In other words, if it's not a Pirate, kill it.

She did find some useful information, though. There was biologic information about Borers, a wormlike species that burrowed beneath the ground. They were named for their method of feeding, which involved creating a small hole in their victim and sucking out their bodily fluids.

There was also slight information on the nature of the Pirates' goals here on the planet. Samus found a passage the read, "Project Injection must be protected!"

She didn't like the sound of that.

Samus also found the name of the mysterious General. The mission report ended with, "We expect nothing but the best. Generals Nicolae and Kraid."

She recalled her first encounter with the Pirates, in the ruins of the G.F.S. Malkovich in the Desert of Sorrow. There, the troopers had mentioned that they were in the Army of Nicolae.

"Must be the bastard's personal bodyguard," Samus grunted to herself.

Giving up with the databases, Samus searched the second room. It appeared to be some form of equipment room, containing extra munitions for the troopers stationed at the post. She felt extremely pleased to recover a prototype version of her Grapple Beam, in a Pirate attempt to recreate it for their own use. It was extremely crude, and would likely kill whoever used it, but once her suit downloaded its basic information, it was able to refine the data and create a serviceable version.

Other then that, the room was useless to her. The rest of the munitions were the standard-issue guns, blades, and armor. It was nothing that she hadn't seen before, though she did find an energy storage unit that held enough to refill her suit's reserves several time over.

The final room appeared to be a housing unit, with rows and rows of bunks in uniform, quasi-military arrangements. It brought back memories of her Federation days. After a quick examination, she exited the room.

Samus went back to the computer room to think and reconsider her next move. She was virtually stranded, as it sounded like the Pirates had located her ship and destroyed it. The military transports that had brought the reinforcements were nowhere in sight, so she figured that they must be stored somewhere else.

In addition, she had no clue where to head next. She hadn't discovered any information as to where the Pirate base was. She also didn't know anything about this "Project Injection", especially any information as to where it would be located.

She thought back to the attack on the Federation ship. The Berserkers had Phazon weapons, as well as being Phazon mutants themselves.

"But that's impossible…any trace of Phazon was destroyed in the annihilation of Phaaze…" Samus considered, "and the Pirates have never shown the kind of foresight of making a secret cache of reserves before. They prefer frontal assaults, using absolutely all of their resources."

There was no Leviathan on the surface. Of that, she was sure. The previous infected planets that she had been on, Tallon IV, Aether, the Pirate Homeworld, Elysium, and Bryyo, had all had lifeforms that showed clear signs of Phazon corruption. Any organism that she had seen so far, like the Kryps, the ancient Ginkgo trees, and the Creeper Vines had all shown no signs of being corrupt. According to the startled reaction when she had taken down that first Pirate, these Borers were creatures of stealth as well. No Phaaze-crazed being had enough sense left to avoid detection. They only knew aggression.

Samus sat on a bench, holding her head in her hands. It was all too much to juggle. Never before had she been so utterly helpless. There was always the next objective, the next directive of where to go.

Clearly, something was wrong with this whole setup. The Pirates had initiated a full-scale attack on one of the most well-defended military vessels in the Federation fleet, using enormous amounts of resources in order to ensure total annihilation. Hell, they had just let those resources be destroyed in the crash, with absolutely no effort made to extract them! The only explanation that made sense was that they had found the hated Hunter vulnerable. Whatever they were planning, it was huge. They couldn't risk her intervention.

Second, the Pirates were getting Phazon from some impossible source. It must have been vast, for indeed they must have used huge amounts in the space assault. Samus had no idea what they planned with the substance, but if the Phazon Crisis had taught her anything, it was that nothing good came from messing with it.

She had to find a way to figure out what was going on. In desperation, she turned back to computer and began to sort through the files again.

She continued scrutinizing the databases for several hours before giving up. Frustrated, she grabbed the bench she had been sitting on and threw it against the wall. To her annoyance, it landed back on its feet. She advanced on it, as if it were the Pirate from earlier, and stomped it in half, her augmented strength shattering the bench in half.

She turned away, desperate for answers, when a flash of white caught her eye. Samus turned back to the bench that she had destroyed. In breaking it in two, it seemed that she had uncovered a secret compartment in the wood. It held only a single word. Antíchristo.

The brief flash of joy she had felt receded as quickly that it had arrived. The word meant absolutely nothing to her. She spun in a complete circle, but found nothing that could help her solve this latest clue. Then it hit her.

She dove back to the computer terminal and quickly called up a file search. She entered the hidden word.

Instantly, a new file appeared. The computer had actually stored the file on a completely separate hard drive that could only be accessed if the word was entered, which was why she hadn't found it before. Samus quickly loaded it.

Page after page filled the screen. She began scrolling through, selecting anything that looked interesting.

The first she found was a map of the planet. She discovered that she was in the smallest area on the planet. She uploaded the map to her suit's computer, its advanced design quickly filling in the gaps in the Desert of Sorrow and Forest of Ancients. There were three more areas that she had yet to search. She found the Meridian Ocean, the Desolate Plains and the Golden Mountains.

Most interesting were the two red dots pulsing gently on the map. One, in the Desolate Plains, turned out to be the location of the Pirate's main base. Samus was extremely pleased to discover that information.

The second dot was much more mysterious. When she tried to obtain the data from the map, the only thing available was a message the read, "Investigate Immediately."

After examining the map, Samus continued searching through the hidden files. Most of the information was still not very useful to her, mainly troop placements and supply information.

Finally, on the last file she struck pay dirt. The file was simply labeled, "Project Injection." Desperate to find out what was going on, Samus scanned through it as fast as she could. She was having difficulty discerning what it was at first. Clearly the report was meant for someone who knew what was already going on. But the more she read, the more and more pronounced the tingle of fear in her spine became.

Then it hit her, in a shock that turned all of her blood to pure ice. Her eyes grew wide, and she slowly collapsed to the floor in shock.

The Pirates had found a way to replicate Phazon. They had access to unlimited amounts of the radioactive substance, at least on the planet. But that wasn't the most worrisome part.

The Pirates were injecting the core of the planet with Phazon.

Phaaze was being reborn.


End file.
